Small Businesses Rely on Holiday Sales

Oregon’s small businesses are the backbone of the state and local economy. According to a report from the City of Bend, in 2024 the retail sector generated approximately $928 million in gross domestic product, which was 8% of the total economy. The report also found that consumer spending at brick-and-mortar stores in Bend has been slowly declining, down 8% in 2024 from July 2023 and down 66% from July 2022.

According to the Oregon Employment Department, Deschutes County has 6,605 small businesses with fewer than 20 employees. That’s compared to 559 medium and 78 large firms.

“While the vast majority of Deschutes County firms are small, firms with 1-19 employees account for a little above a third of jobs (37%) and wages (35%),” Economist Brannigan Vogt with the Oregon Employment Department told the Source.

The rest of the state follows a similar trend. “When looking at employer firms, those with at least one W-2 employee, we find that most Oregon businesses have less than 10 employees,” says Vogt.

Economist Damon Runberg with Business Oregon says 78% of Oregon businesses have fewer than 10 employees. “Eighty-nine percent of Oregon’s employer firms have less than 20 employees. And, firms with fewer than 20 employees account for 25% of all jobs in Oregon.”

Nov. 29 is Shop Small Saturday, traditionally held the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was created by American Express in 2010 to drive consumer spending at small businesses and has grown into an annual tradition backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Supporting locally owned businesses does more than boost the economy; small businesses help create unique communities and often provide more personal customer service.

“Small businesses are really important to our local economy and Shop Small Saturday is a great opportunity to really help out our local businesses,” says Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler. “We are seeing pressures on small businesses, everything from tariffs to the economy — trouble having workers be able to afford to be housed here, which we hear from employers a lot.”

Despite the challenges, the City provided statistics that said small businesses had only about a 4% closure rate in 2022 and 2023. That’s in line with the state average.

Jen Riker with Shop Brave, a boutique on SW Century Drive in Bend, says her experience is that shoppers on Black Friday tend to focus on big box stores, which is why Shop Small Saturday is more important. Shop Brave has three Oregon locations with 20 to 30 employees, depending on the season.

“We really appreciate our customers shopping at Brave on Shop Small Saturday. We have give-aways with purchase to make it fun,” Riker told the Source. “Brave’s mission has always been to be a Bend boutique for locals!”

Rob McDonald from Stand on Liquid, which has five employees, says, “We do tend to get a spike on Small Business Saturday. It’s not as big as Black Friday or even Cyber Monday, but it’s noticeable.”

The City is considering a program that would provide grants to small businesses.

“I went on a great tour of Metolius Tea the other week,” Kebler told the Source. “They are a locally owned, locally formed small business, women owned. And they were telling us about some grants they got from Business Oregon [for] a key piece of equipment that helps them be more efficient, a key piece that helps them expand their business. And it can be a thing that helps them make Chai, or it can be something that helps them label boxes, the things that are just important to their business… Even a small grant, for those things, allows them to employ more people, allows them to expand.”

Kebler says Bend’s new Economic Development Officer Katy Brooks is expected to present proposals for a grant program to the City Council in the coming months. Brooks talks about the idea during the latest “Bend Don’t Break” podcast found on bendsource.com.

While the state doesn’t track specific sales data, Vogt says employment in retail trade peaks in July/August and again in November/December, making Shop Small Saturday important to a small business’ bottom line.

This article appears in the Source November 20, 2025.